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CIA apologizes to Turkey over IS oil links

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the CIA have apologized to Turkey over claims in 2014 regarding an oil trade between Ankara and ISIL.
During a U.N. Security Council meeting in 2014, Kerry had said they had information that Turkey was importing oil from ISIL, a Foreign Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that Çavusoglu denied this claim at the time.
“We know who gave you this information. Some Arab countries are reacting to us because of disagreements over the Egypt issue.
They are conducting a campaign on the issue.
This is a very serious accusation,” Çavusoglu told Kerry at the time, according to the official.
After requesting the file of the allegations in a number of meetings with Kerry, Çavusoglu was given documents that included information on coordinates in Turkey. An analysis by Turkish intelligence agency MIT determined that the geographic locations in the document that allegedly shows where ISIL’S oil trade was conducted with Turkey in fact shows the asphalt plant of the Kilis municipality in southeastern Turkey.
After this information was conveyed to the U.S., Kerry apologized and the CIA filed a written apology to Ankara, said the official.
In recent years there have been many claims of an undeground oil trade between Turkey and ISIL, allegations which have been substantiated.
A US State Department official refused to speak about the details of any specific diplomatic conversation but said that U.S. assessment on this issue had never changed.
“As we’ve said before, the United States flat out rejects the premise that the Turkish government is in league with ISIL to smuggle oil. We have seen no evidence to support such an accusation.
Turkey plays a vital role in the counter-ISIL coalition. ISIL oil smuggling has, in fact, decreased over time thanks to efforts of the Turkish government and other counter-ISIL coalition members to target oil extraction and transportation infrastructure.” the official said.—Agencies